May 2020 - Newsletter #4

Must Telemedicine Force You to Buy More Expensive Prescription Drugs?

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More than a decade ago, the launch of NorthWestPharmacy.com was part of a revolution toward the distance-based delivery of prescription drugs at affordable prices. Now, as the coronavirus may be creating a revolution toward the distance-based delivery of medical care, some big telemedicine interests appear to have implemented policies that could frustrate the cost savings that Americans get from importing their prescription drugs.

Many patients are finding it challenging to see their doctors face-to-face in the wake of the coronavirus crisis with its attendant shelter-in-place guidelines and concerns about being exposed to waiting and clinic rooms. Fortunately, many doctors have quickly adapted to provide patients medical care via telemedicine methodologies which utilize electronic communications and software. This is facilitating a continuity of medical care for many medical conditions during these difficult times though not all medical conditions can be treated through telemedicine. Some patients, and especially those who don't already have a doctor-patient relationship, are holding off on seeing a doctor altogether which poses health risks of its own.

Big Telemedicine Corporate Policies: Savings from Rx Drug Imports Not Allowed

All of this has generated much discussion in the media about various big telemedicine companies that provide care exclusively through telemedicine rather than through face-to-face medical consultations. So, we decided to see for ourselves whether these companies support what should be the right of every American to choose a provider of affordable prescription drugs over exorbitantly priced pharmaceuticals. The results were disappointing.

We contacted 25 different telemedicine companies and posed as a prospective American patient. We started doing this by phone but with hold times of more than 45 minutes or calls going straight to voicemail, we had to change our approach and decided to email them all instead. Among other questions about cost and service, our "patient" asked whether she could have any prescription that might be issued to her mailed directly to her home rather than have it sent by the telemedicine company to a pharmacy. (Receiving the prescription to her home would allow her to take it and have it filled at any pharmacy of her choice and even outside the USA.)

Most of the telemedicine companies did not bother to respond at all to the email. Of those that did respond, nearly all said they would only send the prescription to a pharmacy in the USA electronically. When our patient explained in a reply email that she could not afford to buy her drugs in the USA and needed to have her prescription filled outside the USA by a reputable provider she's used for several years, they either didn't respond or refused to send the prescription to the patient directly or to a pharmacy based outside the USA.

Denying patients physical prescriptions and refusing to transmit them to a pharmacy outside the USA means that patients cannot have their prescriptions filled through NorthWestPharmacy.com, which is of course, far more affordable. It forces the patient to pay significantly higher prices for prescription drugs in the USA. Only two out of the 25 telemedicine companies we contacted said they would transmit the prescription physically to the patient or by fax to an online pharmacy outside of the United States. But, of those two, one company's response time was five days! (The other was prompt.)

NorthWestPharmacy.com believes that for telemedicine to be effective, it must consider the cost of pharmaceutical therapy, the patient's ability to pay and it must support the patient's choice of prescription drug provider. If the end result of a telemedicine consult is a prescription drug therapy which cannot be acquired or adhered to because it is too expensive, the outcome of the consultation is impractical and insensitive to the economic circumstances of the millions more Americans who are now without health insurance as a result of the recent increases in unemployment.

If you are planning to use a telemedicine service, we suggest you first confirm with them that they will transmit to you a paper version of your prescription or are willing to fax any prescription they issue directly to NorthWestPharmacy.com, if you are planning on having it filled through us. In fact, you can forward them a copy of this newsletter if it helps to describe your concerns.

There Are Other Telemedicine Physicians Who Support Affordable Drugs and Patient Choice: Meet Dr. Brynna Connor

The good news is that most doctors who have been practicing face-to-face medicine are sensitive to the fact that patients need to acquire affordable drugs from us and many of them are also providing telemedicine services. We know because thousands of physicians and their families purchase their own personal prescription drugs from NorthWestPharmacy.com and many thousands more refer their patients to NorthWestPharmacy.com every year.

We'd like to introduce you to one of them, Dr. Brynna Connor. Dr. Connor is a Texas-based physician who has been providing telemedicine services long before the novel coronavirus crisis - since 2014 - as part of her family medicine practice.

We interviewed Dr. Connor recently and she explained her approach to the practice of medicine which she brings to her telemedicine consultations. She aims to provide cutting-edge medicine and proactive health solutions to people of all ages through unrushed appointments that do a deep dive into each patient's specific medical conditions and overall health. Telemedicine appointments with Dr. Connor are comprehensive and often last more than an hour unless the patient is only seeking acute care. For those who have had trouble getting to the root causes of a complex medical condition, Dr. Connor considers herself a medical detective and "she's been called a bird dog when it comes to solving creative problems."

Dr. Connor tells us, "it's pretty interesting to see how many conditions can be addressed by telemedicine. It opens up access for people." She notes that while there are some limitations, she is able to provide telemedicine consults for a vast range of issues like depression, anxiety, hypertension, urinary tract infections, influenza, asthma, erectile dysfunction, wellness-based preventative medicine (including Covid-19 prevention) and many more. She and her team even coordinate getting any necessary lab work done with the patient. Dr. Connor tells patients in advance that she does not offer a high-volume rubber stamped online prescribing service. She provides real healthcare, the way it should be - highly personalized, thorough and with attention to detail.

Dr. Connor also pays attention to the patient's insurance and financial situation. She confirms that she "advocates for and assists patients in making their healthcare dollars go as far as possible" and this is included in her consults. She is incredibly concerned about the high cost of drugs in the United States. In fact, Dr. Connor has been recommending patients use NorthWestPharmacy.com for several years. We positively blushed when she told us that she is "impressed with the quality of care provided by NorthWestPharmacy.com" and that our "service is far more cost-effective and personal than big box drugstores - to put it mildly."

Dr. Connor is licensed in both Texas and Illinois so is providing telemedicine consultations to residents of both states. If you or someone you know is looking for a physician and reside in either of these states, check out Dr. Connor's website and her refreshing approach to patient care. Her clinic can provide you with details regarding the cost of her services if you call or email them.

Connecting Our Customers with Telemedicine Doctors

NorthWestPharmacy.com is keenly aware that there are patients looking for high quality telemedicine providers like Dr. Connor in other states too. If you are a physician providing telemedicine services and are also concerned about the high cost of prescription drugs, please email us at CustomerService@NorthWestPharmacy.com. We'd like to hear from you and possibly provide your practice as a resource to the more than 825,000 people who receive this newsletter. If you are a patient and your doctor is providing you with high quality telemedicine services which support your right to choose to have your prescription filled through us, please forward this newsletter to them and ask them to get in touch with us.

We know patients are struggling to see doctors and doctors are struggling to see patients these days. We're happy to help doctors and patients connect to advance people's health. We do not expect any compensation from physicians to be featured in our newsletter, any website resource section or any free-of-charge service we may create that is designed to connect patients with physicians providing telemedicine services and there is no requirement to have a prescription filled through us. We respect the patient's right to choose their prescription drug provider.

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